So far this year I’ve had a couple of posts comparing 2012 to 2006. In January, I mentioned that 2009-2011 had unfolded in a very similar pattern to 2003-2005. Then again in April I mentioned that if this relationship were … Continued

While last week’s alphabet post was tongue in cheek, below is a chart of the year’s S&P 500 grouped by a factor that is slightly more relevant to forward returns. The chart compares the 2012 performance of the best and … Continued

Since it’s Friday, here’s an offbeat post for the day. Below is the YTD performance of equal weighted portfolios consisting of stocks that begin with a given letter. Looks like the T portfolio has been the big winner so far … Continued

Intrade has become a popular source as a prediction engine for setting the odds of a future event happening. The total volume traded in the site’s most popular contract (the Obama-chances-of-being-reelected contract) is still pretty minimal though. Since December of … Continued

As of this moment, the S&P 500 is on pace to post its 3rd worst performance in May since 1957. Of course, there are still 10.5 trading days left this month. Below is a list of the 10 worst months … Continued

Commodities have taken a beating for the last couple months, which has accelerated since the start of May. Oil, quoted as WTI, has cratered from a high of $107 per barrel to a low of just under $92 as of … Continued

US equity markets were rattled yesterday when a report came out that Greek banks had lost 700m euros worth of deposits on Monday. It’s a large sum in a single day, but it’s mostly a continuation of a process that … Continued

Housing starts were reported this morning at 717k for April on an annualized basis. It’s still an extremely low level, but for the first time in a long time, it looks like starts could be breaking out of the low … Continued

Many investors will use the SPDR ETFs to gain broad exposure to a particular sector, but often they don’t give as much thought to the underlying components of each ETF. Below is a list of the top 5 holdings of … Continued